Step-Lover by Bella Jewel

You’ll only ever have one forbidden love.

Care to know why?

Because when you find it, forbidden love that is, you’ll forget everything else. You’ll forget your first kiss. You’ll forget the first boy who made you smile. You’ll forget all the bad, and remember all the good. You’ll forget that it’s wrong. You’ll forget that it hurts. You’ll forget everything that came before him.

Forbidden love, it has a way of changing you. The secrets. The lies. The guilt. You want something so much you no longer care about the world around you. The passion takes away the pain. I’ve felt it. I’ve lived it. I didn’t need it, but it chose me.

I met him before I knew. I loved him before I knew.

I didn’t know that he was my stepbrother. I knew I had stepbrothers, but I didn’t know he was one of them. Now I know, I have to walk away. My mom, she deserves this happiness so much more than I do. If she ever knew…it would destroy her.

You have to understand why.

I saw my father die right in front of my tiny, eight year old eyes. He took my sister with him. All that’s left is my mother and I. She’s found her happy place, the only place she’s had since our worlds were destroyed.

So you see, I can’t have him.

I can’t want him.

But there’s this problem with passion, and love, and destiny.

It doesn’t give you a damned choice.

---

Review by Amanda

Step-Lover tells the story of Aria and Blade.  A wild weekend before heading off to college sees Aria spending time with a gorgeous man.  They don't make each other any promises, in fact they don't even share their names with one another.  As the weekend starts drawing to a close, Aria realises she wants more than just fleeting time with her mystery man.  However, when she awakes the next day her mystery man has disappeared, leaving Aria more than a little heart broken.

The book then moves forward one year - Aria's mom has finally taken the plunge with a new man, and it is time for Aria to meet his children.  Although, she does talk to the youngest one, Ripley through social media, she hasn't met his other sons.  At her new step dad, Jack's suggestion, they are off to spend a month long holiday at the lake with her new make shift family.  Aria convinces her bff Melanie to tag along to the family getaway.

The arrival of his sons brings some shocking news for Aria - her mystery man is none other than Jack's eldest son, Blade.  As soon as Blade lays eyes on Aria, she can see the disgust well up in his eyes.  The two are constantly at odds with one another.  Although, the chemistry between the two is palpable, they both agree in order to protect the family unit they need to stay away from each other.  This becomes relatively easy for them to do as Blade shows his asshole tendencies almost immediately.  He also lavishes attention on another girl, which has Aria seeing red.

Another event happens between Aria and Blade - something that shouldn't have happened, leaving Aria completely broken and devastated.

The book then skips another year forward to find Aria happily ensconced in a new relationship.  She is pre med and living with Melanie.  Brody and Ripley (her other 2 step brothers) are now living in the same city as her, and the three of them have developed a sibling bond. 

As bad luck (or is that good luck) would happen, Blade of course returns on the scene.  He arrives with his beautiful girlfriend in tow.  This sets in place a torrent of events that will leave you reeling.  Have Blade and Aria finally put their feelings aside and moved on with other people?  Is there still a pull between them?

A fight, a hospital trip, a secret uncovered and feelings finally admitted will things work out? Will the family get their happily ever after.

I really enjoyed this book, Blade is the epitome of asshole step brother, and I loved it.  He made us loathe him and love him at the same time.  The perfect mix of sin and heaven.  He did drive me insane with how he treated Aria though, although in your head, you could work out that he was doing it for the greater good, it made me so mad.

Aria was someone that had experienced great loss and sadness in her life, so I understood that she was a broken and fractured person.  I did not really connect with her though, I found her to be too weak and too much of a doormat.  I wish she would have had a stronger sense of self and really given Blade hell.

I did love the secondary characters of the book - Brody, Ripley and Melanie.  Each of them with their own hidden secrets that slowly came trickling out as the story continued.  I cannot wait for Brody and Melanie's story - I have a feeling that one is going to knock our socks off.

I am giving Step-Lover 4 stars - although, I am a HUGE Bella Jewel fan, this one just fell a little short for me.

---

Goodreads

Amazon US

Barnes & Noble

Meet Bella Jewel

Bella is a fun loving australian and a multiple USA Today bestseller. She spends her days in sunny north QLD with her husband and two adorable daughters. She's been writing since she was fifteen, and after her success with her debut novel, Hell's Knights, she has been head down, bum up creating new stories. She is the author of the MC Sinners series, Number Thirteen, Enslaved by the ocean, Where Darkness lies, Life after Taylah, Angel's in Leather, The Jokers' Wrath series and 'Til Death. Her next novel, Step-Lover is due for release in early March 2015.

You can follow her on Facebook to keep updated by simply liking her page here --> https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Bella-Jewel/513907282000951

---